Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Hack has a job he loves. Great friends. Stability.
And no one special in his life.
A caregiver and protector, he needs someone to take care of.
And then Greer Savage walks right on into his life.
Incredibly brave, yet also slightly broken. Sweet and funny.
He wants to wrap her up tight in his arms and never let her go.
He just needs to help her conquer her demons first.
A Little fighting her fears . . .
Eight years ago, she fled from her nightmares.
Now, her younger brother is back from the dead and Greer has returned to the very place she ran from.
But maybe this is where she is meant to be and Hack is the man to help her put the past behind her forever.
The only problem with nightmares is that they have a way of following you wherever you go. And sometimes they just don’t want to let go.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
“Turn your car around right now, Squirt.”
Greer sighed. “Hello to you too, big brother. How are you today? Is the weather nice in Montana? I’m guessing not based on your grouchy mood.”
“Greer,” Aidan growled. “Don’t start with me.”
She felt safe rolling her eyes, considering he was over a thousand miles away and couldn’t see her.
“I’m not turning around, Aidan,” she said calmly.
There had to be one sane person in their family.
And apparently, it was her.
“You are. You’ll do it right now, Squirt, or I swear I’ll take you over my knee like I did when I caught you smoking pot.”
Jesus. He was out of control.
“That was sixteen years ago! I was thirteen years old. You shouldn’t have been spanking me then, and you won’t be spanking me now!”
He seemed to think that just because he was five years older than she was that he got to boss her around.
It hadn’t been the case back then, and it wasn’t the case now.
“Oh, I’d think again, little sister. Turn your car around and go back home.”
Ouch. That hurt.
He doesn’t want you.
You’re just a nuisance.
All you ever bring is bad luck.
She bit her lip. She hated it when the voices got into her head—like needles slicing into her. She struggled to push them away.
Damn it. Why wasn’t she doing better than this?
Pulling off the road, she took a deep breath.
“Greer? What happened? Are you all right?” Aidan asked sharply.
Get it together.
“Do you not want to see me?” she whispered.
Shit. She hadn’t meant to say that. And she was aware of how vulnerable she sounded. Why couldn’t she be tough like Aidan? Instead, she was so stupidly sensitive.
She wasn’t like this . . . before.
Don’t think about that. You’re putting it behind you.
Think about the future.
You can do this.
“Sweetheart, no!” he said quickly. “Of course I want to see you. You know that’s not what I meant. I’m just trying to protect you.”
“I’m nearly thirty years old, Aidan. You can’t keep protecting me forever.”
“Well, why the hell not?”
She had to grin.
Their ma used to joke that as soon as she was born, Aidan decided that Greer was his responsibility.
After their dad died, he’d grown even more intent and serious. He’d tried to be everything for everyone. He’d supported Ma while looking out for Greer and their younger brother, Cash.
But Greer always felt guilty that he’d never had much of a childhood. He hadn’t gotten to do all the stupid things kids did, because he’d been too busy bailing her and Cash out of every misadventure they’d gotten into.
And there had been a lot. Even though Cash was four years younger than she was, they’d always been close.
Or she thought they had been.
Until he’d disappeared.
Then a few weeks ago, Cash had turned up at Aidan’s place on Christmas Day.
No forewarning. No phone call or even a freaking postcard to say he was alive.
Nope. He’d just turned up.
And he had some explaining to do. So far he hadn’t told Aidan where he’d been all this time. Or why he hadn’t contacted them.
She was so freaking mad, and upset, and betrayed. Her emotions felt like they were overflowing, as though she couldn’t contain them anymore. She needed to calm down and breathe.
Just breathe.
She wasn’t responsible for what other people said or did.
I’m safe. I’m loved. Everyone I love is safe.
It’s okay to be angry and upset.
She took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.
“Greer?” Aidan asked urgently. “Are you still there? What’s wrong? Has something happened? Right, stay where you are. I’m coming to get you.”
She rolled her eyes again. At this rate, she was going to give herself a migraine.
“You’re going to drive a thousand miles to come get me, and you want me to wait right here? On the side of the road in Missouri? Aidan, are you listening to yourself?”
“You’ve pulled off the road?” he asked. “Have you pulled right off? What if someone drives up behind you too fast and doesn’t see your car? Have you got your hazard lights on? Are your doors locked?”
“Daddy? What’s wrong? Why are you pacing?”
Greer breathed out a sigh of relief as she heard Livvy’s voice. Even as she felt a strange pang of longing. Was it weird that Greer was a Little and her big brother was a Daddy?
Well . . . obviously, it would be super weird if he was her Daddy and her brother. Which he wasn’t.
Nope.
Their family might have their issues, but that wasn’t one of them.
And she was glad that he’d found Livvy. They both deserved happiness.
She loved Livvy. And she adored those three nephews of hers. Greer had claimed them as her nephews as well. She’d probably never have children of her own. Which meant she was going to spoil any that her brother had.
Brothers.
Because Cash was alive.
She closed her eyes. She hadn’t been sleeping well since she’d found out. Not that she ever slept well.